Hi, this is my first post. My husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2012. He has been having problems with urge incontinence and leakage. Following a urology appointment this week he has been shown how to use a catheter to deal with the urine which stays behind and builds up in his bladder due to the Parkinson’s affecting his bladder muscles. He has been told to do the procedure in the morning and before bed. It is uncomfortable for him and we both wondered if just doing it in the morning would be sufficient. It is a big step to take. Does anyone else have experience of this?
Hi @CHaCHa,
A warm welcome to the forum.
I’m sorry to hear that your husband has been experiencing issues with his bladder. I’m sure you’ll receive some words of advice and encouragement from other members on the forum soon, however, we have a lot of information on bladder and bowel problems that you may find useful here - https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/information-and-support/bladder-and-bowel-problems.
In terms of changing your husband’s catheter, I would advise that you to speak to his GP or Parkinson’s nurse about this before you make any final decisions as even slightest change to this could affect his health. We also have a team of highly knowledgeable advisers via our helpline service who would be happy to offer you more information and support on this. Do give us a call for free on 0808 800 0303 from Monday-Friday: 9am-7pm, Saturday: 10am-2pm, or you can email [email protected].
I hope this information helps.
Best wishes,
Reah
Might be worth discussing with the professionals the use of external catheters. Very ease to use, either during the day or overnight or both if needs be, though take a bit of getting used to. Our local NHS incontinence service was excellent in terms of advice and supplies. It does of course depend on the he nature and cause of the proble., but for us, leakage and the need to stop having to get out of bed at night when that was really difficult were the main issues.
Regards, pippa